Ventures Africa launches list of Africa's Richest People for 2014

Ventures Africa, an African business magazine
and news service, has today launched its second
annual ranking of Africa’s wealthiest people. The
Richest People in Africa list remains the most
comprehensive compilation of the continent’s
wealthiest individuals.
In 2014, Ventures Africa counted 55 African
billionaires with a net worth totalling $161.7
billion, a 12.4% rise from $143.8 billion in
2013.
This year Nigeria remains the continent’s top
contributor to the Rich List. Of the
55billionaires, 23 are Nigerian. Their collective
wealth is $77.7 billion. This is 48 percent of the
total Rich List wealth, almost as much as the
other countries combined.
Other key findings from the research include:
· Nigeria has four new billionaires. Cletus
Ibeto, founder of multi-business
conglomerate, Ibeto Group, leads the list of
newcomers with a net worth of $3.7 billion.
He is followed by Benedict Peters, an oil
magnate valued at $2.7 billion. Well-
known financier and philanthropist Tony
Elumelu, valued at $1.6 billion, and
Akanimo Udofia, worth $1 billion, complete
the list.
·         AlikoDangote, founder of Africa’s largest
industrial conglomerate Dangote Group,
remains the continent’s richest man. His
net worth has grown to $25.7 billion, a
21% rise from his $20.2 billion valuation
in 2013.
· Igho Sanomi, a Nigerian oil trader,
shares the position of Africa’s youngest
billionaire with Mohammed Dewji,
Tanzania’s richest man. At 39, Igho
Sanomi, the founder of oil conglomerate
Taleveras Group, is worth $1.3 billion.
· FolorunshoAlakija, the richest black
woman in the world, is worth $7.3 billion
dollars.
· Almost 40% of Nigeria’s billionaires’
wealth is tied to its oil and gas industry.
Chi-Chi Okonjo, Founder of Ventures Africa,
said:
"The Ventures Africa Rich List is the
most authoritative accounting of individual
African wealth. We have been able to do
so because of our on-the-ground experience
and detailed knowledge of the local
African business landscape.”
The list has been compiled using financial
reports, by tracking equity holdings around stock
markets and identifying specific shareholding
structures in large, privately-held companies. The
results have been corroborated with investment
bankers, realtors and financial analysts to
determine proper valuations.
To view the full Ventures Africa Rich List please
visit: richlist.ventures-africa.com /2014